Parking Demand vs Supply: An Optimization-Based Approach at a University Campus

Parking management has always been a major concern for universities and other activity centers. Nowadays, many universities are suffering from a lack of campus parking capacity. To tackle this problem, it is necessary to take parking lots assignment into consideration, regarding intercampus users' needs. These users have different ages, physical characteristics, expectations, and administrative positions that should be considered before any parking assignment. Here, a new method is proposed to optimize parking lots management for those universities where staff (academic and administrative), in contrast to students, are allowed to park inside the campus area. For this purpose, first, the probability of using a specific parking lot by each group is determined. For staff, this is done based on their choices, revealed by the relative frequency of using parking lots. This probability for students can be calculated using a fuzzy inference system model. To develop the model, a survey is conducted to extract students' preferences, regarding parking spaces assignment inside the campus area. Afterward, an integer linear programming model with the objective function of maximizing parking probability is employed, considering several related constraints. The proposed model is applied to Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman (SBUK), Iran, as the case study. According to the results, it can be concluded that the proposed method can help to reduce wandering time of finding an appropriate parking space for both staff and students. In addition, the proposed application can help increase the satisfaction level of staff and students with regard to parking management.